The book Snow Treasure is about a boy named Peter and his friends help his uncle Victor get gold to America but they are trying to sneak past the Germans.
Some of the major differences are in the book the kids bring the gold down on sleds and in the movie they do it on skis.
Nothing was really challenging for me this week.
Also Mr.Keyser showed us an Elvis video that Mr. and Mrs.Keyser were in.
Hello, and once again, Happy Friday!!
Well, I changed my mind and found a few minutes to put this blog together Thursday afternoon. Academically, we are pretty much where we were last week. The students in each of our math classes are coming to the close of their respective units on Multiplication and Long Division. We will be switching this next Wednesday.
We had a very good Worship gathering on Wednesday, and in addition to singing some great Praise and Worship songs, we had a fun lead in to “March is Reading Month”. The theme this year is from the very popular, “Where’s Waldo” series. I am asking that if you have any of those books, or any of the books from the “I Spy” series at home, that we could borrow them for some of our activities. This next Wednesday will be a comfy PJ day, and the class is encouraged to bring in a flashlight and wear their PJ’s.
I spoke with a woman who ran into Mrs. Hall a couple of days ago, and she said that things were so much better. She is doing some part time work with a corporation that puts on seminars, and she is also working part time at her church. So good to hear that she is doing well.
I have included an informational link about a book that can be ordered that would be a great addition to any family’s library, and one that the monies raised will go to a very worthy cause!
Hoping and praying you all have a very nice weekend! Very Sincerely, Paul Keyser
Hello and Happy Friday!
We had our Social Studies presentation it went very well and we also presented to Mr.Jenkins.
On Wednesday we went to the Grand Rapids symphony I really liked it and they preformed very well.
My favorite part of this week was p.e. because we are playing hockey.
Hello and Happy Friday!
It’s been a pretty busy week here for the “Kids of Keyser’s Klassroom”! We seemed to have packed in quite a bit into 4 days. The kids worked diligently preparing for their social studies marketing presentations during their free time this week. They were very relieved when they finished them yesterday. From all reports, it seems that most of them went extremely well(at least that is what they told me). I wasn’t able to sit in on any of them, but I did get the chance to talk to most of the groups as they prepared for their presentations, and they were very interesting! I am sure Mr. Hutt breathed a sigh of relief when they finished them yesterday! In our Bible class, we are finished with the Return to Judah, and are going to delve into the early life of Christ starting Monday. After looking over the curriculum, I feel it should be very interesting for the kids, and will lead to some in-depth discussions! In Science we are completing the Ch-Changes unit on matter and its properties, and will be starting a unit about our solar system, aptly entitled “To Infinity and Beyond”. This should also prove to be an interesting unit, that truly illustrates the incredible universe that our Lord created. We are continuing on with the many applications of long division in my class, and Mr. Hutt is in the midst of the unit on multiplication. Mrs. Keyser and I have been helping the class put their finishing touches on their informational writing pieces. Most of them are coming along extremely well. If they hesitate to show you, it may be because they are not as far along as they should be. I know they are not able to bring their laptops home, but you can have them email it to you, or they can log in to their Google account from home and you can view it from there.
The 5th grade were all treated to the incredible abilities of the Grand Rapids Symphony on Tuesday. It was an interactive experience for them as the conductor involved the audience(5th graders from the greater Holland area) throughout. They played about a half dozen pieces that ranged from Rossini’s William Tell Overture, to Beethoven’s 5th! That was one the kids all recognized.
Yesterday, the class spent some time with their preschool buddies. Once again, a thank you to Lisa Klamer for allowing us to come down and spend some time with her precious little ones! Our kids helped them put together something from various materials that might normally end up in the garbage(cereal boxes, toilet paper tubes, egg cartons, etc). They pooled their creative juices to make robots, cars, fire trucks, butterflies, animals, and houses to name just a few. The time flew by, and the kids are already looking forward to their next opportunity to go visit their little buddies!
Lastly, I have been reading the book, “Snow Treasure”, and I have received permission to show them the movie of the same name. It is G rated, and there is a good summary of the content on the website, “Rotten Tomatoes” if you have any concerns. I will be sending home a permission slip today for you to give them the okay to watch it. I plan on showing it before Wednesday of next week, so please look for the form if they don’t bring it to your attention.
All in all, a busy, but very enjoyable week here for your sons and daughters! Have a incredible weekend! Paul Keyser
We made Valentines bags this morning with Mrs.Keyser and she brought some stuff to use.
Yesterday the HC living hope singers came to Chapel and sang a few songs for us.I really liked the living hope singers that came yesterday.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!
It has been a good, albeit short week here at ZCS! Today, is flying by as the kids spent some time this morning putting their bags together for their card exchange. Mrs. Keyser came in and helped with the decorating, and many of the bags look really sharp! We didn’t get as far academically this week due to the short week and the snow day. We are still moving through the material that I highlighted last week. The “Winter Olympics” are commencing this week, with the first event being the sled races. If you son or daughter participated, I’m sure you’ll hear about it.
I sent an earlier email asking for volunteers to drive to the field trip this next Tuesday. I have one volunteer so far to drive to, and to hear the Grand Rapids Symphony, and am looking for three or four others that are willing to drive. It will be at Central Wesleyan in Holland, and we will be gone from about 9-11. Please let me know with an email(pkeyser@zcs.org) if you can drive. I will take the first three or four people that volunteer. I hope you all have something fun planned this long weekend with the kids. I know I am doing some things with both of ours! Also, I am taking my Mom to the airport Saturday as she and my sister and her husband are going to Australia for three weeks. Should be an incredible experience for them all
When a balloon is blown up all the way and you leave it for a day or a few the balloon will shrink.
-Recite the first 7 verses of the 2nd Philippians for your parents when you get home.
In SS my group is going to make a radio commercial and a brochure for our SS presentation.
Hello and Happy Blustery Friday!
Wow, what a week of weather we have experienced! Yesterday afternoon, with the upper 40’s and relatively snowless ground, it seemed like a tease for Spring, and then this morning, back to the deep freeze! The 4 days we have been here, it has been a good, and educational week. In Social Studies, the kids are putting their finishing touches on their marketing presentations for next week. They are listening to Mr. Jenkins as I write this to get more information to help them with their presentations. In Math, Mr. Hutt is in the multiplication unit, and I have the group that is in the unit on division and its applications in the real world. I am sure I speak for Mr. Hutt as well, that many of our students could benefit from spending more time on their times tables. Either with old fashioned flash cards, or one of the many free game-like programs that can be found on the internet. Their efficiency in solving both multiplication and division problems is greatly enhanced by their mastery of the basic times facts. In Bible class, we are finishing up with the unit on the return to Judah, and the rebuilding of the temple. I am noticing that with a few students in the class, they aren’t showing command of their Bible memory verses as well as they were before Christmas. Today, they should be showing mastery of 2nd Philippians, verses 1-7. In language arts, they are working on their informational writing pieces. If they haven’t told you what their topic is, please have them go over it with you. In science class, we are continuing with our unit on matter, specifically how we can make deductions about the matter we can’t see, based on what we can see.
My wife Kathy is enjoying her time with the kids two mornings a week, helping them with their writing pieces. She is also setting up the Valentine’s Day activities. Thanks to you all for being willing to send in the requested item for next Thursday! I hope and pray this note finds you and your families well!
In writing I am writing about Michigan Basketball and my 5 sub-points are the history,the team,rankings over the years,best players,and historical wins.
In science we did a lab and tried to figure out what the mystery powders were and it was really fun.
My favorite part of the week was math,and science
Good Day, and Happy Friday!
Another week has drawn to a close, and it has been another busy week academically. Mr. Hutt is in the middle of his marketing unit, and I have heard from a few kids how much they are enjoying it! Mr. Hutt is also in the 4th unit with his Math class dealing with multiplication, and I am drawing toward the end of unit 3, on fractions. Besides the usual grammar and spelling activities we cover in Language Arts, we just began our next major writing piece, informational text. They are currently trying to narrow down a list of things they feel they know a lot about. Once they choose their topic, they will decide what to include in their piece on the topic. They appear to be excited about writing on something they already know lots about. In Bible class, we are continuing on with the Jews return to Israel, and the rebuilding of their Temple. We also are touching on the relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans. In Science class, we are drawing to a close our unit on matter and the differences between chemical and physical changes. The class spent two days in lab this week trying to identify 5 “mystery powders”. A good challenge for all!
Hoping you are enjoying the last of our mild temperatures before the bottom drops out of the thermometer this weekend. We were reminded of the policy that the kids are required to go out for recess, unless a teacher specifically has something for the students to do. I say this only to please make sure your son or daughter has all they need to keep warm while they are outside. I am amazed as I go out and shiver during my recess duty how many kids are out there with only a fleece, and no hat or gloves! I also realize that they might have the hat and gloves in their lockers, but choose not to wear it, often because they race out the door to get as much recess time as possible! 😉
Quick reminder if you are going to donate some toiletries for the Philippine students, the new due date is next Wednesday. If possible, please have them in a Ziplock bag that is a 2 gallon size or smaller. Thanks so much.
On a personal note, we found out yesterday that my son and his wife are going to have a boy the first week of June! Nice to know that Jeff is not the last Keyser in the family tree! God is good, all the time! Jeff says Mom and baby are doing great and both growing! 🙂
Hoping and praying you are all doing well, and that you have a great weekend! Paul Keyser
This week we learned that God moved king Cyrus’s heart and let the Jews go back to Jerusalem.
In the morning we greet each other in the circle and now we give complements and the best ones are the ones about each others personality.
Happy Friday!
I just wanted to tell you all how grateful I am to be able to be with the kids for the rest of the year. I think they already feel like I am their teacher, and not just someone filling in for Mrs. Hall. I did see Claire yesterday as she came in to get her personal items, and it made me feel good to see that she was ready to move on and see what God had in store for her. She made it clear that she always really cared for the class, and I told her the kids knew that. Now, we can just focus on the task at hand, and that is having an incredible second semester with MY CLASS!
It has been a good week back after a very relaxing Christmas break. I hope and pray you enjoyed some quality family time as I did. We got back in the swing of things by Monday afternoon. I think the kids were still half asleep in the morning! 😉 Probably it was tough to get some of them out of bed!
Mr. Hutt has moved into a Marketing unit, and he had Mr. Jenkins come in and give a presentation to the kids that was quite informative on “Marketing 101”. In ELA, Mrs. Keyser and I are working on context clues to be used in their reading. They still have their weekly grammar, cursive, and spelling activities. In Bible class, we are studying the rebuilding of the Temple as God’s chosen were allowed to return to Judah by the benevolent King Cyrus. Science this week consisted of a couple of labs involving distinguishing between chemical and physical changes to matter. Math has been divided between Mr. Hutt and me, with the emphasis on fractions and multiplying two by two digit numbers. Knowing our times tables is still a skill that most of the 5th grade could improve upon. All in all, a very interesting week of learning!
I also want to thank you ahead of time for purchasing the toiletries for our Philippine Students.
In devotions we are making Advent Chains and on each chain there is a Bible verse and we have to answer how does it relate to Christmas.
The best part of my week was getting to eat lunch with Alyssa today.
Good Morning to you all!
It has been a good, albeit busy week for my class. In addition to the normal schedule, we have had Community Crews for Wednesday’s lunch, and Family Groups Thursday. The theme for the Family Groups was “Christmas Fun”. We made Christmas chains, listened to carols, played a game or two, and learned the origin of a few Christmas traditions. All in all, it was a very enjoyable time. On Tuesday, the class went down and spent some time with their “Preschool Buddies”, and made countdown chains for the days leading up to Christmas. I have included some pictures below. Special thanks to Lisa Klamer’s preschool class for having us come down! Today, the kids were entertained at lunch by the 5th grade band playing Christmas carols. They did an incredible job, very impressive!
Classes have been going smoothly as I have continued with the fractions in math(unit test prior to Christmas break), properties of matter in science(including an interesting lab comparing the properties of various substances). We finished up our unit on the Last Days of Judah in the Bible class, and the kids did very well on their assessments. We are now beginning the unit, Judah’s Return. In Language Arts, the papers are finished, and the class is doing a variety of activities to highlight the Christmas season. Your son or daughter should have come home with a Christmas ornament that they made with Mrs. Keyser. They also were entertained by Mrs. Keyser reading the Max Lucado book, “The Tale of the Three Trees”. Mr. Hutt has been finishing up with the Mid-Atlantic colonies in social studies.
A couple final reminders for you to note. First, we are still looking to collect new hats, gloves, mittens, and scarves for the Fishers of Men ministries before next Thursday, when we walk there to present them. Please try to include this in your shopping plans this weekend, so we have a nice turnout next week. Secondly, Liz Culver and Holly Heres are still looking for people to use Signup Genius for items for the Christmas party next Friday. During the afternoon, the kids will be watching the movie, “The Nativity Story”, and it comes with a PG rating. I have included a copy of the permission slip below, and will send home a hard copy for you to sign and return. There is a link at the end of the paragraph for you to click on and see why it carries a PG rating.
The Nativity Story
Dear Parents of 5th Graders ~
After the New Year the 5th grade will be kicking off our Bible unit on the birth of Jesus. A number of years ago a movie, the Nativity Story, was suggested to us as a fairly accurate portrayal of the Christmas story. This real-life portrayal of what it might have been like that first Christmas is well done and is quite true to the Biblical account (with some exceptions and differences which we will discuss in Bible class). We do need your permission to let your child watch this movie because it is rated PG. Below is a permission slip to watch The Nativity Story next week Friday. Also, here is a link to a review of The Nativity Story that Focus on the Family put out when The Nativity Story originally was in theaters ~ https://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/nativitystory
Sincerely,
Mr. Hutt
Mr. Keyser
Mrs. Nunez
Mrs. Rodriguez
Mr. Zhang
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I _________________________ give my child _______________________ permission to watch The Nativity Story with the whole 5th grade class on Friday, December 21, 2018.Thanks so much, and have a Blessed weekend! Paul Keyser
PS I am truly starting to feel very much at home here at ZCS! Your kids are the main reason I am feeling this way! Thanks for raising a great group of kids!!
This week was great because we learned new stuff and played some games.
I’m looking forward to next week because we have math.
One thing we are doing in Mr. Keyser’s class(besides getting candy) is playing brain quest.
From the desk of Mr. Keyser
My third week is drawing to a close, and I finally feel very comfortable in my new role as your child’s 5th grade teacher. Mr. Hutt has been invaluable in his help and support over these three weeks. He has truly helped me feel very much at home here at ZCS! After 3 weeks, I am starting to really get to know my 16 students extremely well. I truly believe that we have a very strong working relationship, which will help strengthen my ability to teach as we go forward. I still can’t get over what an incredible group of students we have in the 5th grade. This also applies to the immersion classes. When we meet in our community groups, I get a chance to see some of the rest of the 5th grade. It should be reassuring as parents to hear that about the group of students that your child is going through school with! That speaks to your parenting skills, as well as the school you have decided to put your trust in for educating your son or daughter! As we quickly come to the Thanksgiving break, I am very thankful to have the opportunity to teach your kids, they have been a real inspiration for me. I also am thankful, and excited for my daughter’s wedding, the Saturday after Thanksgiving! I’ll probably include some pictures in my post after the wedding! Hope you have an incredibly Blessed weekend!
Mr. Keyser
PS I am going to try to do my blog like this with the kid’s blog included above. I noticed that Mrs. Hall did it this way, and it seemed an effective way of getting my message out with the student’s messages.
PSS We are donating items to the Parkview Home and Harvest Stand Ministries. Items such as: toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, shampoo, toilet paper, paper plates and cleaning supplies may be dropped off in the hallway during the next week.
This week was awesome.I love math this week. We learned about stuff with decimals.My favorite special this week was p.e. because we are playing volleyball.I saw God work in the beautiful snow this week.I want to tell you more stuff when I get home and relax.Before I go I want you to know that this week was full of fun and Mr.Keyser made it happen.
